The base patent with Spanish application number P200202864 of the invention establishes means for evidencing the first opening that provide several advantages, the first of which is showing initially a large and flat surface and, after the first opening, showing a ring which can have a different colour from the capsule and thus will be easily seen, clearly showing that the cap has been opened.
This provides visual evidence. However, in this type of caps it is also important to provide audible evidence such that when the cap is turned to fully or partially open it, a snapping sound is heard that gives the impression that a breakable element has been snapped and therefore provides evidence that this is the first time the cap has been opened.
The cap of the base patent makes use of a lower ring to which it is connected by breakable bridges. This ring is peripherally grooved such that its lower part has a peripheral lip and such that above the groove a tongue is defined. Using different thicknesses will make the dimensions determine whether or not a lip is flexible; therefore, the lower peripheral lip and the tongue are not very different in their configuration, but are very different functionally. The latter has a greater flexibility.
After the mouth of the bottle has been sealed with the cap on the pourer, a single-body capsule is incorporated. A perimeter cutting action leaves the cut area notched into the groove of the ring placed under the cap.
In this way, the lower ring of the cap is connected by breakable bridges to the cap, while the two parts of the capsule defined by the cut support the same ring.
The lower skirt or bottom part of the capsule holds the ring with respect to the bottle through the lower peripheral lip, and the tongue is bent and held upward in the perimeter cutting operation by the upper segment of the capsule.
The opening operation implies a rotation and axial displacement due to the helical motion imposed by the thread.
In the first opening, the rotation and axial displacement break the breakable bridges of the grooved ring, as the latter is retained on the bottom by the lower part of the capsule. The breaking produces a snapping sound.
In turn, the axial displacement forces the fixed tongue joined to the grooved ring to be separated from the upper part of the capsule that is rising. Initially, when it is forced upward the tongue will restore its position elastically, producing a second snapping sound.
In addition, the elastic restoration of the tongue covers the upper edge of the lower part of the capsule when it descends. This prevents the edges of the bottom part of the capsule from cutting, as they are concealed by the tongue.
After closing, the tongue cannot be introduced in the top part of the capsule and hence it is interposed between the capsule segments and is externally visible.
In this way, the evidence of opening can be seen by the presence of the tongue and heard by the two snapping sounds generated.
In this solution, as the peripheral cut fully separates the upper and lower parts of the capsule, it is not advisable to print the sides of the capsule as the images that are on both the upper and lower parts of the cutting line can be misaligned, creating a discontinuity of the image and preventing its use from a commercial standpoint.
Similarly, the snapping sound of the tongue is reduced when the bottle has been filled a long time before, as the elastic restoration is not as quick.
The present invention provides a means for combining the solution of the base patent for providing evidence of opening and others involving the connection of the capsule segments in order to overcome the two aforementioned disadvantages.